The mum of a champion skater who died at the age of 23 has revealed for the first time the details of at least two people whose lives were saved by his donated organs.

The mum of a champion skater who died at the age of 23 has revealed for the first time the details of at least two people whose lives were saved by his donated organs.

Gaynor Taylor, whose son Richard died in a freak skating accident outside his Barry home, said the man who received his heart even went on to win a gold medal at the Transplant Games.

Gaynor, who has campaigned for more organ donation, has never met the people who received her son’s organs after the tragedy eight years ago but she doesn’t rule it out in future.

She has limited details of all of them through a process strictly controlled by hospital organ donation teams.

“Richard’s heart and liver went to people on the super urgent list who would have died in 24 to 48 hours,” Gaynor said.

“His heart went to a man in his fifties who has since sent us a gold medal he won at the Transplant Games.

“But the one that affected me most was the lady his liver went to.

“She had two little girls, one was a 20-month old baby and one was under 10. That affected me most.

“You think of organ transplant and you think you’re doing good for that person and you don’t always think of the impact that has on the rest of their family too.

“It made me realise that little baby and little girl would not have had a mother but because of Richard’s death they did.”

A diabetic father of two boys received Richard’s pancreas and one kidney while the other kidney went to a woman.

Gaynor and John also agreed to their son’s corneas being donated, one going to a man in his seventies, the other to a little girl, giving both the gift of sight.

Knowing that at least two other lives were saved by the decision comforted Gaynor who is now backing a New Year campaign encouraging families in Wales to talk about organ donation.

Richard, who turned professional at the age of 16 after winning the World Amateur International Inline Skate Series, died after crashing into a concrete lamp post near his home in Barry in 2004.

The 23-year-old skater, who was about to join the Line Skis Professional Team, fractured his skull in the crash and never regained consciousness.

Eight years on Gaynor says she still takes comfort knowing Richard’s heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas and corneas were used to give others life and in two cases stopped young children being robbed of their parents.

Speaking about the terrible day she and her late husband John agreed to Richard’s life support machine being turned off, she said they didn’t know what their son’s thoughts were on donation.

Although they both supported organ donation they were relieved to learn later that his driving licence showed he wanted to donate.

“When we knew that we’d lost him we were approached by a specialist nurse at the hospital and asked to consider donating his organs.

“We hadn’t talked about the subject as a family but my husband and I agreed to the donation going ahead as we felt that was the right thing to do.

“We were later told Richard had registered on the NHS Organ Donor Register without telling us and knowing that we’d made the right decision felt as if a weight had been lifted from our shoulders.”

Gaynor is now urging other parents to talk to their children about what they would want if tragedy struck.

She says donating is not only a gift of life to others but can also help the agony of loss for those left behind.

“It definitely helped me. I know that Richard’s life was not in vain, that other people benefited and two people definitely lived because of him,” she says.

The Heart to Heart roadshow, which starts in the New Year will be supported by advertising campaigns across Wales from January 25 to February 14.

“I would like to encourage families across Wales to make it their New Year resolution to talk about organ donation this coming year and sign the Organ Donor Register if in favour,” she says.

“ I know people can be superstitious, but talking about it won’t make it happen.

“It’s such an important issue – you need to know what your next of kin would want so that you, like us, make the right decisions for your family.”

The campaign is part of an awareness bid launched as the Welsh Government Bill tries change the system of consent in Wales to a soft-opt out.

Under the new system, if people don’t register not to have their organs donated their consent will be deemed to be given.

If passed, the new law will come into force in 2015.

A two-year public awareness campaign will start immediately following the new law receiving Royal Assent to inform people of what the new legislation will mean and what their options are under the system.

WalesOnline is part of Media Wales, publisher of the Western Mail, South Wales Echo, Wales on Sunday and the seven Celtic weekly titles, offering you unique access to our audience across Wales online and in print.